by Thomas Freese | day trips Columnist
La Grange is a small town in Oldham County northeast of Louisville off Interstate 71. It was incorporated in 1827 and named after the Marquis de Lafayette's French farm. The area was first called The Crossroads, centered on a wagon path from Shelbyville to Westport and from New Castle to Louisville. I have enjoyed a number of trips to La Grange to shop, enjoy small town quiet, dine andÖhunt for ghosts.
Both the historical tours, which run year-round, and the Spirits of La Grange ghost tour, which is available through the end of October, begin at the Oldham County History Center. Of the three buildings located on the History Center property, the ghost tour assembles in the J.C. Barnett Archives and Library, erected in 1840.
I went with a friend last October to hear about the Spirits of La Grange. We gathered in the history center archives, milled around looking at the gift shop while a man wearing a black bowler hat prepared to take us walking through history. I kept my digital camera ready for catching orbs or other photographic anomalies. The tour guide, Bill Lammlein, took us walking down Main Street and talked about a dozen homes, giving history and haunting details. Some houses we were allowed into and others he could only regale us with information. All of the ghost tour guides are volunteers. This will be the fifth year for the Spirits of La Grange tour and the organizers are adding events and additional stops. Each stop and story is fully researched.
At the William T. Barbour House, circa 1830, on Washington Street, the tour guide informed us that it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This brick building sure felt like it was inhabited by a number of spirits. In 1846 it was transferred from a private residence to a girl's dormitory for Funk Seminary. Linda Foster now lives there and runs it as a shop called Christmas in Kentucky. Linda was present in period dress and told us about some curious happenings with a large mirror, saved from the Red Cross building in Louisville. Linda also reported her hand being held at night in bed and a powerful odor emanating from the downstairs storage closet.
At our next stop, outside only, we looked at the First Baptist Church. I was pleased to find a small orb showing on my digital picture. We walked back to Main Street to hear stories about the Ballard House. The owner at this 1840 home reports a fair amount of spirit activity, including a woman called Dottie and sightings of a little girl. Other odd occurrences include disturbed or disappearing objects in the office section. At another stop on East Main Street, we gazed at a lovely Italianate mansion built in 1870. Here folks report of a restless cellar door, doorknobs which self-turn and evidence of a ghost who ran the calculator machine through all of its paper.
The Irish Rover restaurant takes up two address numbers on the other side of Main Street. A shop previously located there often found dolls and toys moved around. When it was a dance studio the record player sometimes changed speeds when playing. In 1988 the space was converted to offices where the resident ghost shocked one of the owners by wildly spinning a wall-mounted picture. At another haunted site on Main Street we walked inside the former Central Hotel and Peak Funeral Home.
What is now the Sweet Ice Cream Shop was formerly the harness shop and post office. Inside I definitely felt the heebie-jeebies; there has to be a ghost here. This location is said to be haunted by Julia, a nanny for the Peak family during the 1920s. She lived upstairs with the family. When Mayor Carter lived upstairs, Julia often spooked the mayor's cat. One night the mayor retired for bed only to discover her clock hands were running backwards. In addition, a woman dressed in pink has been seen in the evenings in the Ice Cream Shop. The mayor also saw the spirit of a man who in mortal life was a prominent La Grange businessman.
Our other stops included the former McDowell Pharmacy, Kenyon Hotel, Pete's Pool Hall and DeHaven Baptist Church. The latter has a story of an organist who practiced when the church was emptyÖexcept for the sounds of phantom feet shuffling down the aisles and creaking wooden seats from invisible derrieres.
The ghost tour takes in 12 blocks of walking and lasts an hour and a half. The two nightly tours on Friday and Saturday begin at 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tours also run on Thursday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person and group rates with 10 or more are available. On Oct. 31 you can sign up for a special paranormal all-night investigation, which includes both dinner and breakfast.
The Spirits of La Grange web site is www.spiritsoflagrange.com. Call them for information and reservations at (502) 356-3293. Barbara Manley Edds, who helped provide information for this article, spoke of strange happenings during the tours.
"Something actually happened tonight. I went into Elsie's with some paranormal investigators. One of the EMF meters worked just fine outside but when we got inside, it just stopped working. After we left the house it began working again," she said. "Some of the investigators find that the camera, cell phones and flashlights do not properly work in there."
There are other odd and mysterious tales which I will refrain from telling so you may enjoy firsthand the entertainment from the La Grange tour guides. I hope you take one or more ghost tours this autumn. You might just take a picture of a real ghost. Have fun visiting your favorite haunts this fall and drive safely on your day trips.
To Get There
The Oldham County History Center is located at 106 N. Second Ave. in La Grange. To get there from Lexington, take Interstate 64 toward Louisville. Drive nearly 60 miles and then go north on the Gene Snyder Freeway to merge with I-71 toward Cincinnati. After 12 miles, look for Exit 22 and take the right leading ramp to KY 53-turning left at the end of the off ramp. Drive the short distance into La Grange, cross the railroad tracks and turn left on Main Street. Drive one block and turn right on Second Avenue. The drive is nearly 90 miles and takes approximately 90 minutes.